Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
Renewable energy sources can lesson carbon footprint greatly
I was surprised to find that my carbon footprint was smaller than the global average, but even more surprised to find how much larger it was made simply by using gas to heat our home and water. This by far had the largest impact on the size of my carbon footprint. Before calculating I had thought that my lifestyle was pretty green. I still believe this, but seeing just how much carbon using gas is putting into the atmosphere made me realize that regardless of how I choose to go about my daily activities, I will still be greatly contributing to global climate change as long as I'm neglecting to rely on renewable and better resources. That is one lifestyle change that is more difficult to implement than most, so it makes sense that it hasn't been addressed by many families, but I feel that if it is at all possible, American families should put the effort in to transition from gas to something less damaging to our environment.